Laura Lepistö's medal in the Worlds is a big thing here in Finland.
It is the first Worlds medal to a Finnish lady.
Finnish men have one: year 1933.
There were several medals in pairs in the early 1900 century.
And, of course, the ice dance medals of Susanna Rahkamo - Petri Kokko.
... but never before a Finnish lady medalling.

The Finnish Figure Skating Association arranged a coffee party to celebrate Laura and her medal last Tuesday. As you can see from these photos it was a very nice party.
- The lady with red hair in the photos is Tarja Halonen, President of Finland. She wanted to come there, too, to celebrate Laura and her medal.
- There were lots of media people.
(... and I was there, too, with two other people to represent our club, Laura's own club)Our own photos

Finnish media has really noticed Laura and her medal.
F.ex. there are two big evening papers in Finland. One of them, Iltalehti, had a six page story on Monday. The other one, Iltasanomat, had three pages on Monday and four pages today.
- It is really seldom that any sportsman or sportswoman in this country gets so much page in those papers ... and figure skating is NOT a big sport in Finland or at least it has not been.

Laura Lepistö's medal in the Worlds is a big thing here in Finland.
It is the first Worlds medal to a Finnish lady.
Finnish men have one: year 1933.
There were several medals in pairs in the early 1900 century.
And, of course, the ice dance medals of Susanna Rahkamo - Petri Kokko.
... but never before a Finnish lady medalling.

Click to expand...

I'm glad to see that Finnish people finally recognize that Laura is the #1 skater in Finland.

There is something special when Laura skates that others just don't have.
Of course, I'm slightly biased.

Jenni Vähämaa says in her official website that she has decided not to continue her active career as a figure skater. She will focus on school and might even compete in sports, but not as an elite athlete.http://www.jennivahamaa.fi/news?id=1847

Jenni Vähämaa says in her official website that she has decided not to continue her active career as a figure skater. She will focus on school and might even compete in sports, but not as an elite athlete.http://www.jennivahamaa.fi/news?id=1847

Jenni Vähämaa says in her official website that she has decided not to continue her active career as a figure skater. She will focus on school and might even compete in sports, but not as an elite athlete.http://www.jennivahamaa.fi/news?id=1847

Great memories will live for ever:
- Jenni twice 4. in the Junior Worlds
- Jenni as a surprise winner in Finlandia Trophy (She was 15 and it was her first senior competition!!!)
- Jenni 10. in Europeans (15 yeas old)
- Jenni as a good skating friend (f.ex. to my daughter)
...

It is not easy to make a come back even if you are young. Jenni will be 18 next month. Yes, only 18!!!

about Jenni. I hope she's happy with whatever else she decides to pursue in life!

It will be interesting to see who gets the the 3rd spot Finland has for Europeans now. Alisa Mikonsaari, Minna Parviainen are still coming back next year and I think Beata Papp shoud be age eligible. Are any of the other junior skaters moving up to seniors?

It will be interesting to see who gets the the 3rd spot Finland has for Europeans now. Alisa Mikonsaari, Minna Parviainen are still coming back next year and I think Beata Papp shoud be age eligible. Are any of the other junior skaters moving up to seniors?